


In The Wake Of Your Smile

by ProPinkist



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I Ship It, Romance, SorAli, these two are adorable ugh, very light romance though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 00:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6262648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProPinkist/pseuds/ProPinkist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alisha gets a visit from Sorey before he leaves to take on the Lord of Calamity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Wake Of Your Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick (and not so great) Sorey/Alisha thing. Basically I'm sad that she never got a "before the final battle" scene since she's not technically a party member *sigh* ...but Alisha never got to really say goodbye to Sorey. ;w; This is fluffy for the most part, but descends into sad for that obvious reason ugh. I felt so bad for her in her DLC episode. :(
> 
> Hope I didn't make her dialogue sound too bad; I'm pretty sure I didn't write her as formal as she really is in the game.

“Alisha, may I come in? It’s me, Sorey.”

Alisha startled at the knock on her room door at the inn, but smiled upon hearing who it was. “Come in!”

The Shepherd hesitantly stepped into the room, and gave her a bit of an apologetic smile. “Sorry for intruding.”

“It’s fine, I was just freshening up a bit. What did you need?”

Sorey hesitated in answer, looking sad.

“I realized that I should give you a better farewell than what I did before. …I’ve decided that we’ll be leaving tonight.”

“Is that so? Why the rush?” Alisha cocked her head worriedly, trying to discern his reasoning.

Sorey smiled almost nostalgically. “I… really couldn’t say for sure. …I guess it’s just because it’s such a beautiful night. It would be a shame to sleep through it.”

Despite herself, Alisha laughed, and patted the bed next to her, indicating for him to join her. “That sounds just like you, Sorey. …But at the same time, I can’t deny that I understand your sentiment.”

He grinned, sitting down next to her. “Am I really that easy to pin down? I guess I am… that’s what everyone always says.” As if to prove his point, Sorey rubbed his head sheepishly like he always did.

“You are, but that’s hardly a bad thing.”

“If you say so.”

They lapsed into a bit of a silence, enjoying each other’s company. Alisha liked this time with her friend alone; it reminded her of when she had first met him and Mikleo back in Elysia all that time ago. She missed that time, back when it had just been him, her, Mikleo, and Lailah (she liked Edna, but hadn’t felt as close to her as the other three, probably because she hadn’t had enough time with her). It was fleeting, but it made her happy; she’d had more fun than she’d had in a long time, being Sorey’s Squire.

…Until she discovered what she was doing to him.

Alisha’s face tightened, but before she could say anything, Sorey spoke up.

“Alisha… I just wanted to say thanks, for everything you’ve done. I don’t think I’ve ever really properly said that.” He looked conflicted, and Alisha watched him in surprise. “…And also that I’m sorry… about Maltran.” The last bit came out in a whisper.

“We… shouldn’t have kept it from you. I realize how wrong it was now. If we’d just told you as soon as we found out, then even if the problem couldn’t be solved, you would have known much before everything went wrong with Hyland and Rolance… and you could have dealt with it how you saw fit.” Sorey shifted towards her, bowing his head as best he could.

“We treated you no differently than all those other people who saw you as weak and delicate. …Please forgive us- no, forgive me, Alisha.”

Alisha watched him sadly, willing her voice to sound strong. “…It’s alright, Sorey. I understand that at your heart, you had good intentions, and only had my happiness in mind.” She put her hand on his shoulder gently, to try to reassure him.

“…In the end, I’m most sad about the fact that we couldn’t come to an understanding. I wish I knew what was going on in her mind during all that time that she knew me… The naïve part of me still wants to think that she cared about me, even just a small amount. …I-I just can’t imagine how she could fake those loving smiles, hugs, and words of encouragement that always seemed so _genuine._ ”

Her eyes began to mist up a bit at the thought of her mentor’s old behavior towards her, and Sorey pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing his hand up and down her arm slowly.

“Maybe you’ll think I’m just saying this to make you feel better… but even though I never saw much of her before she… changed, I have a feeling she did care. I don’t believe you can spend so long with someone and not eventually feel at least _something_ in a relationship you’ve fostered, even if it was for selfish reasons to start with.” He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “…Her ideals and her motives were wrong, and betraying you was wrong. …But like I said before, what she taught you all that time _wasn’t_ wrong in and of itself. It helped you to become the strong-willed, brave, and kind Alisha I know.”

She blushed at Sorey’s words, to her embarrassment, and weakly wiped her tears away. “You praise me too much, Sorey. I haven’t done anything worth thanking, really… You’re the amazing one, not me… but I appreciate it all the same.”

_And I’m thankful for you too, Lady Maltran, whether you like it or not._

Sorey shook his head, putting his hands on top of hers. “That’s not true at all; if it weren’t for you and Sergei, we couldn’t even begin to think about our own mission. It’s our job to deal with the hellions, but your job with the people of Hyland is just as important, if not more so.” He hesitated, giving a slight sigh. “I’m sorry you couldn’t come with us. Mikleo, Lailah, Edna and I all miss you, even though Edna might not admit it. …But don’t think that just because you’re not with us, you’re less important. Your impact on Glenwood is far and wide; without you, we couldn’t act.”

“Sorey, what’s with such flattery?” Alisha was starting to become a bit concerned, even as the happiness at his words bloomed in her heart. “…It’s true that I would rather be with you all than stuck speaking to officials and writing doctrines, even if things _hadn’t_ been in the state they were. Purifying hellions as your Squire and helping the people of Marlind made me feel good about my duty as a knight. …Even before all that, spending time in Elysia with you was so lovely, so tranquil. It made me happy to see that you believed in the seraphim, for reasons which I did not yet know, just like I did. I could sense you weren’t alone in your village like you appeared to be at first glance, but I hardly dared to believe it until later.” She smiled fondly at the memories, remembering them like they had just happened yesterday.

“…But in the end, knowing I’m not ailing you in any way is more important to me than going adventuring.” She waggled her index finger at Sorey in mock scolding. “If there’s anything you should have told me sooner than you did, it should have been that.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Sorey confessed, lifting his hands in surrender. “…I just don’t want to make things a problem until I know for sure they can’t be avoided or solved.” He grimaced, seeming to think of something, and Alisha watched worriedly. “…That’s something I need to work on, to be honest. I sometimes think about how some things could have turned out differently if I had been more forthright. …But now I’ll never know… and I suppose I never learn, either.”

She bit her lip, remembering his words to her back when she had had her meltdown after Lady Maltran had died: _“in some ways, I feel the same as you do.”_ She wondered what had happened during his journey, what he regretted the most. If _she_ wanted to run from her duty after the death of her mother figure and as her country was collapsing, she couldn’t even imagine how Sorey probably felt. He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he had to make the most difficult decisions out of anyone, as Lailah had warned him when he first made the contract.

How much death had he seen, and how many of those were ones he knew and cared about? Even as she broke down, Sorey was still going strong with a bright smile and a kind heart. Just being around him was soothing, and his mere presence inspired people to become just as brave as he was. What he had done at the fight against the dragon was amazing, and so moving to her. Alisha was amazed and at the same time heartbroken at his never ending bravery and resolve.

“…That may be true, but regretting things doesn’t help anyone,” she finally said quietly. “…Though I know I don’t have much room to talk.”

“You sound like Lailah and Rose; they keep telling me that too,” Sorey chuckled.

“I can definitely imagine Lady Lailah saying that. She felt like such a wonderful big sister to me when I was with her.” Sorey hummed in agreement.

Alisha leaned back on her arms, happy memories flooding into her mind.

“…When you’ve dealt with the Lord of Calamity, you should tell me all about what I missed while I was gone. Tell me about the ruins you were looking for, and how you acquired Rose and Zaveid… I want to know it all.”

Sorey let out a small noise, and Alisha wondered if her words had upset him somehow. “…Yes,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around her again unexpectedly. “You’ll know everything we did, everything we saw… everyone we met… There’s someone you should know about that you never got to meet, actually.”

“Oh really? I’m looking forward to hearing all about it then.” Sorey had a sad smile on his face, and she decided not to question him any further for now, as much as she wanted to.

As if recognizing that, Sorey quickly stood up, to her surprise. He turned around to face her, his cheerful smile having returned in just that split second.

“W-Well, that’s all I wanted to say, Alisha… thanks for everything.” He made his way towards the door, and Alisha followed him, the worried feeling that had been brooding in her this whole time becoming even worse.

“Of course… but you don’t need to say it like this is a permanent farewell, you know. …And I have much more to thank you for than the other way around.”

“R-Right, you’re right,” Sorey agreed, sounding apologetic. “…Sorry if I made it sound final; just wanted to get it off my chest!”

Without warning, he pulled Alisha into a hug, this one much more intimate than the ones while they were sitting down.

“S-Sorey?” Alisha sputtered, the gesture shocking her. He was holding onto her as if she was the only one grounding him to the earth, and even as she wrapped her arms around his back, she felt slightly scared. “What’s wrong? Please tell me.”

“Sorry, I just…” Sorey finally let go of her, almost reluctantly, and smiled. It was a smile that Alisha was certain she would never forget for the rest of her life, but she couldn’t put her finger on why exactly she felt that way.

He leaned his head forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Maybe she was just imagining it, but Alisha thought that for a split second before it happened, he had been eyeing her lips instead.

So many emotions welled up inside her: fear, confusion, shock, embarrassment… and yet the only one she let show was her undying happiness, leaning into his gentle kiss that still felt so loving even though it was only on her head.

Alisha wondered why he had changed his mind at the last second. The most likely answer she could come up with was one she didn’t want to think about.

“…Good luck with the peace talks,” Sorey murmured. “Sergei will do his best to help you out as much as he can, I know.” He leaned back, then swiveled on his feet in one smooth motion before she could answer him.

“Thanks for everything. …Bye for now.” He opened the door, and Alisha finally found her voice.

“Y-Yes! I will keep doing my duty, to prepare for the new world that you and the others will create.”

“…Happy to hear that, Alisha.” He paused in his movement, then finally said one last thing, so softly she could barely hear him.

"...I always was glad I gave you that true name. It fits you perfectly."

And with that, Sorey exited the room, leaving Alisha standing there alone, words still left on the tip of her tongue.

_I love you, too._


End file.
